Above ground pools are a perfect starter pool, I like to say. And the water is no less refreshing than an inground pool. With a deck built around the pool, the only thing lacking is a deep end for diving.
However, if you’ve ever dreamed of an inground pool in your backyard, today we walk-thru the steps involved to remove an aboveground pool and install an inground vinyl pool kit in it’s place!
Prices for complete inground pool kits start at $5K, and you can build it yourself or hire our professional pool project manager, for another $5K, and have a pro on-site for the 4-5 day process. Total costs range from $13-27K, depending on the size and shape of the pool and pool deck.
Just one week of work, (and a few weeks of project planning), and you can be swimming in a beautiful in ground pool, with any deck style you choose and any feature or equipment that you can imagine.
Demolition of your Above Ground Pool
This could be a fun process, or perhaps a tearful goodbye, but removing an aboveground pool is not a difficult task – unless you are giving it to someone else, in which case you have to be more careful to preserve all parts and pieces without damage.
- Drain or pump out the pool water.
- Slice up the liner with a razor knife and roll up sections.
- Remove top rail, uprights, skimmer and equipment.
- Remove wall bolts, roll up the steel wall, wrap with tape.
- Pull up bottom rail and concrete blocks beneath uprights.
Most of the parts of an aboveground pool can be recycled, just drive it down to your local recycling facility to dispose of the aluminum, steel, vinyl and plastic parts of the pool.
Pool Project Planning
In this stage, before you buy your pool kit, visit your local Building and Zoning division of your town, city or county to get info on permits and inspections for inground pool construction. You will find them very helpful, even if you’re not a contractor.
Planning includes finding a few good helpers for the project, and hiring an excavator, electrician and a concrete delivery company. You’ll also need to order the pool floor material which can be vermiculite, concrete or a sand/concrete mix.
And of course, planning involves selecting the pool size and shape that will best fit your design, and choosing any optional equipment or features such as built-in slide, spa or fountains.
Day One: The Big Dig
Once all the supplies are on site, the excavator is the first to arrive. Using the pool spec sheet, he will have no trouble digging a pool with a Bobcat or a trackhoe, in under a day. You will only need about 20% of the dirt removed as backfill, so make plans to have the excess graded into the property, or have it hauled off-site.
Day Two: Pool Assembly
The next step is to erect all of the wall sections, using a level, plumb bob and a transit, to make sure they are all at the same height. Install the step section, skimmer and return fittings. Use a plate compactor to smooth out the pool floor, if the material is loose, and flat shovels and garden rakes to clean up loose debris and fine tune the angles of the floor slopes.
Day Three: Concrete Delivery
A concrete truck will need to make access to within 15 feet of your pool, to dump a load of concrete on the outside of the pool walls. The “concrete collar” is 30″ wide and 10″ deep, all the way around the pool, and this locks the walls in place, deep in the earth. As the truck dumps the material off of the chute, have 2-3 people with rakes and shovels to help push the wet mix around the pool.
The pool floor material is next. Add 2″ of base material to form a smooth and durable surface. Vermiculite is a popular surface, either by itself, or mixed with concrete, known as Pool Base. A concrete floor is another option. While the truck is there, you can take the other half a load, and trowel it smooth for the pool floor and deep end hopper sections.
Masonry sand or stone dust can also be used as floor material, but are prone to divots and heel marks.
Day Four: Plumbing & Electrical
The plumbing can be done by most handy homeowners, but the wiring of the equipment sub-panel, and the bonding of the pool, is required to be performed by a licensed electrician. You can make things easy for your electrician by having a trench from your main home breaker panel to the (already installed) pool equipment pad and another trench to the pool light location.
Plumbing involves connecting a main drain, skimmer and return line from the pool, to the equipment pad, and connecting the pump, filter and heater or other equipment. Real easy – just prime and glue the pipes and fittings, all coming into one trench dug from the pool to the equipment pad. Our inground pool kits even include PVC pipe and fittings!
Day Five: Pool Liner
The pool floor should be clean and smooth. With several helpers, drape the new liner across the pool and lock it into the track at the top of the wall. Use a large wet/dry vac or Liner Vac, to set the liner with a vacuum. Screw on the main drain cover and you can begin to fill the pool from a garden hose, or have some of the water delivered. Filling from a hose generally takes 1-3 days depending on size and flow rate.
What’s Next? After the pool is full, backfill and tamp soil up against the walls, on top of the concrete collar. Top with 4″ of gravel, leaving room for the installation of a wood, stone, paver, or concrete pool deck. Water everyday very thoroughly around the pool to help accelerate the settling of the backfill soil. Wait 2-4 weeks before installing a concrete deck, to be sure the ground has settled. The beautiful thing about inground pool kits, is that you can install it in under a week, and you can do it yourself – for half the cost of a local pool builder.
Whether you opt for our on-site project manager, or use our Free and unlimited project support team by phone/email, you’ll save about 50% – and be able to say that you built your own pool, with pride!